NPR News: 03-05-2026 7AM EST

0:00This message comes from Carvana, who makes buying and financing your next car easy. Thousands of vehicles, terms up front, and 100 percent online. Even get it delivered to your door. Buy your car the easy way with Carvana. Delivery fee may apply. Live from NPR News in Washington on Corva Coleman, the US and Israeli war against Iran has widened again today. Officials in Azerbaijan say drones launched from neighboring Iran hit an airport in its southern region. Another drone fell near a school, and two civilians have been hurt. Azerbaijan is a U.S. ally. Meanwhile, an Iranian missile that was headed for Turkey was shot down yesterday by NATO air defense. Iran has denied firing the missile. Bateri Shultz reports this is the first time the military alliance has been drawn into the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran. Turkey is calling on all parties engaged in the conflict in the Middle East to quote refrain from actions that would lead to further escalation. It's not clear specifically where the ballistic missile was aimed.

1:00Is it passed over Iraq and Syria, approaching Turkish airspace, before being shot down by NATO air and missile defense systems stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea? NATO spokeswoman Alison Hart said the alliance condemns what she referred to as Iran's targeting of Turkey. The U.S. has air forces at the insurlic base in southern Turkey, but Turkish officials say the base has not been used for offensive measures in the war. For NPR News, I'm Terry Shultz and Brussels. Meanwhile, Iran is also firing at Qatar today, while the U.S. and Israel continue to fire at Iran. Certainly, it is not yet clear who will take over as Iran's supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Hamani was killed in air strikes last Saturday. That person will be chosen by a panel of Iranian clerics. NPR's Jackie Northam says, one leading contender to be Iran's supreme leader is Hamine's son, Machaba, who is considered a hardliner. Now, Machaba has important connections of all the candidates. He's the one who is closest to the powerful Islamic Republican guard corps, the IRGC.

2:03He's also well connected in his late father's own office, and these are the two most important parts of the regime, and if they support him, there's a good chance he'll be Iran's next leader. NPR's Jackie Northam reporting. There's a seven big tech companies met at the White House yesterday and signed a pledge to keep AI from raising electricity prices. They say they'll cover the cost for the electricity and infrastructure needed for data centers. NPR's Stephen Bessaha reports. The companies that signed the pledge are some of the leaders in AI, like Google, Meta, and OpenAI. The data centers they're building across the country have also sparked fears of rising energy prices. Google President Ruth Parat said the company plans to grow the nation's power capacity without driving up the costs for everyday consumers. We're committed not only to pay for 100 percent of the energy we use, but very importantly, the infrastructure to support that growth, whether or not we end up using that energy. The pledge is not legally binding. State governments have been passing and considering their own laws to try and prevent data centers

3:04from raising power bills. Stephen Bessaha, NPR News. Google is among NPR's financial supporters. You're listening to NPR News. Rhode Island State Attorney General has released a report it documents decades of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church diocese of Providence from Ocean State media David Wright has more. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Narona's 300-page report documents an all-too-familiar pattern, priests accused of abuse shuffled from parish to parish by local bishops. Bishops knew, bishops knew, and did nothing. Worst than nothing, they transferred priests. According to the report compiled from church records dating back to 1950, the diocese transferred 31 priests to new jobs at least five times each. In response, the bishop of Providence said that the diocese adopted new safeguards decades ago and that there are no credibly accused clergy in active ministry.

4:09For NPR News, I'm David Wright in Providence. Montana's Republican US Senator Steve Daines has announced he won't seek re-election. He revealed his decision yesterday, just minutes before the deadline expired for candidates to file paperwork for the November General Election. In a Trump immediately announced he was endorsing another Republican candidate, the US Attorney for Montana, Kurt Almi. Earlier this week, Montana's only representative, Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke, also announced that he planned to retire. Zinke backed his former staff member for the job, talk show host Aaron Flint. Flint was also quickly endorsed by President Trump. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington. According to this podcast, sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime Membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org, that's plus.npr.org.